


Services Rendered

by MannixMind



Category: A Song of Ice and Fire - George R. R. Martin, Game of Thrones (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, F/M, Fluff and Angst
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-07-31
Updated: 2015-07-30
Packaged: 2018-04-12 04:32:12
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,911
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4465556
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MannixMind/pseuds/MannixMind
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>"You want to pay me. To watch Arya." Gendry said each word slowly and flatly, hoping from his tone that Jon would realize the error of his ways, mumble something about it just being a passing idea, and take the request back. But to his surprise, Snow just shrugged unapologetically.  </p>
<p>"Well I just wanted you to watch her, it's Robb who wants to pay you."</p>
<p>Or where Jon bullies his roommate Gendry into watching Arya while he's away on a research trip, and much awkward angsty smuttyness ensues.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Services Rendered

They were three beers in, watching a football game that neither of them had any vested interest in, enjoying a quiet last night together after a long day of packing and rearranging their two bedroom apartment when Jon cleared his throat to say something.

"Hey Gen, there's one more thing before I go. I need to ask a favor. Before you say no - I'm willing to pay you, whatever you want."  
  
He'd been expecting this. Jon was his best friend, they'd been roommates since their freshman year, and he could always tell when there was something weighing on Jon's mind. He would say you could tell because Jon was brooding, except that he was _always_ brooding. Still, trying-to-think-of-a-way-to-tell-you Jon had a different kind of brood. When Snow had first met Ygritte it was the only face he made for a good month and a half, so Gendry was pretty familiar with the look by now.  
  
Unlike with Ygritte though, this time he was pretty sure he knew what it was, and even though it'd be far from his favorite task in the world he'd manage for the five weeks Jon was on his research trip.  
  
"Already know what you're gonna ask," he said, taking another swig of Yeungling.  
  
Jon's eyes shot open in surprise.  
  
"You do?"  
  
"Yup. And it's fine, I can watch him while you're gone."  
  
Jon's brow furrowed in confusion. "Him?"  
  
"Ghost. Right? Aren't you going to ask me to look after your dog? And you know you don't have to pay me for something like that, even though I'm not a dog person, we've been tight for four years Jon, come on."  
  
Jon flushed looking embarrassed and Gendry's eyebrows rose in curiosity.  
  
"It's uhh, not Ghost I want you to watch while I'm away."  
  
Creeping suspicion began to fill Gendry's mind but he just kept his eyebrows raised until Jon continued. He did so reluctantly, and looked sheepishly down at the floor as he mumbled, "I uhh, I want you to watch after Arya while I'm away."  
  
It was so Jon that he supposed he should've expected it, but Gendry still found that he was flabbergasted, both by Jon's ridiculousness and the little flip of excitement in his stomach at the suggestion.  He'd known Jon's feisty little sister since for over four years now. When he'd first met her, Arya Stark had been a skinny prepubescent twelve year old, with messy short hair and a constant mischievous gleam in her stormy grey eyes. She was now a freshman at Northern University where he and Jon were grad students, and though Gendry saw her on an almost daily basis he still hasn't quite gotten used to how decidedly grown up she'd begun to look. She was still as mischievous as ever, but the playful smiles she gave when she was doing something on a dare had become anything but childlike. Still, despite her penchant for recklessness at times she was startlingly capable, and would neither welcome nor think she needed any sort of looking after.  
  
"You want to pay me. To watch Arya." Gendry said each word slowly and flatly, hoping from his tone that Jon would realize the error of his ways, mumble something about it just being a passing idea, and take the request back. But to his surprise, Snow just shrugged unapologetically.     
  
"Well I just wanted you to watch her, it's Robb who wants to pay you."  
  
Gendry felt his eyes rolling. Of course it was Robb who suggested paying him, and of course Robb and Jon had been strategizing about maintaining their protective coverage of Arya for the five weeks Jon was away.  Although the two brothers were like night and day, and had run in different crowds in college with Robb attending the more elite (and private) Iron Throne Institute of Technology, and Jon going to Northern, the respectable but rougher around the edges public university, they’d managed to stay thick as thieves through undergrad. And so even though it was five years now since they’d left home, the two brothers somehow managed to be entirely of one mind when it came to their younger siblings. Robb had taken his long anticipated place at his father’s side in Stark Industries in September, and so had moved to Silicon Valley from Wintertown where their universities were located just as Arya moved to college. Gendry was surprised Robb hadn't volunteered to work remotely for the next five weeks to watch over their precious baby sister himself. Maybe that was Plan B.  
  
Gendry sighed and ran his fingers through his hair, realizing as he did it how much Jon was rubbing off on him.  
  
"Jon. You realize that Arya is eighteen years old."  
  
"Yes."  
  
"And you realize that she’s about twice as tough as the rest of you combined.”

Most twenty-three year old boys would be offended at the suggestion that their eighteen-year old, five-foot-nothing sister was tougher than them, but Jon just smiled at that proudly. The Starks were all athletes, and Jon had even received a boxing scholarship as a NCAA featherweight, but Arya was on a whole nother level with her physical pursuits. Half the grey-hairs on Catelyn Stark’s head probably grew in the day Arya announced that she was going to start competing in mixed martial arts tournaments on her sixteenth birthday. A verbal knock down drag out fight had ensued and for a while things in the Stark household ground to a standstill. But then things with Sansa hit the fan in Los Angeles, and Ned Stark broke rank, siding with Arya as if letting her fight could correct for their elder daughter’s vulnerability, and the rest was history.

“What I’m saying, Jon, is that I’m not sure Arya’s in need of my protection. I think she’s likely fine watching out for herself.”

Jon’s eyes darkened, and Gendry knew instantly he was thinking of Sansa. She’d seemed fine on her own, more than fine, before things had gone south with Joffery Baratheon.

“Jon what happened with Sansa…” Gendry began, but his friend cut him off.

“I’m not worried about that happening with Arya. It couldn’t, she’d never… well, it’s not my main concern, anyway. I do think she can handle herself with _that_ kind of thing. I’m just worried about her… well about her acting _rashly_ without Robb and I here.”

“Rashly?” Gendry said, his eyebrows raising again. Last week Arya had gone four rounds in a fighting cage with a twenty-three year old female UFC fighter from Dorne in between her Intro to English Lit and Linguistics classes. Rash was Arya Stark’s middle name, and there was no way Gendry could change that.

“Not with the normal stuff, that’s fine,” Jon said dismissively, as if he were reading Gendry’s thoughts. “Its well…” Jon cleared his throat uncomfortably and looked down, “you know last week when we went out to the Mummer’s Tale to meet Arya and her friends and I ended up making us all leave early?”

“Yes…” Gendry said slowly. He’d been meaning to ask about that, but Jon had been in such a bad mood afterwards that he’d let it go.

“Well, it was because… it was because Arya passed me her wallet and asked me to take out her cover for her, and I found, well…”

“You found?”

“Well, condoms. In her wallet.”

Gendry felt his face go hot. He supposed it wasn’t that bizarre, Arya was over eighteen after all, but still he wouldn’t have guessed that she’d started really _doing things_ with men.

“Seven Hells.”

“I know.”

“Did she say why?”

_Stupid question._ He thought to himself the second after it left his mouth. He was just surprised. He'd spent the whole day with Arya playing video games just last week, and for how oblivious she was to the way sitting with her knees up made her shorts slip all the way up her thighs Gendry had supposed she just didn't think about these things.  Now he supposed that meant she just didn't think about these things with _him_.  for some reason, that thought didn't sit well at all. Jon cocked an eyebrow at him, and he quickly mumbled, “I mean who. Did she say who.”

Jon sighed and ran his fingers through his already thoroughly tousled hair. “No. She said they were ‘just in case’ whatever the fuck that means. So you can see why I need someone watching out while I’m gone.”

Gendry sighed again. “I don’t know Jon… I mean you know I don’t spend much time on campus I don’t even know if I’ll see her—“

“Oh don’t worry about that, she’ll be here every day.”

“She will?” For some reason the thought sent a jolt of energy through him. What was wrong with him? He should really call Bella back, it’d been too long.

“Yeah, I’m getting her to watch Ghost while I’m gone. I can’t just leave him here with you, you won’t even talk to him.” Jon said the last sentence almost accusatorily, as if it was a serious mark against Gendry’s character.

“You don’t trust me to watch your dog, but you trust me to watch your sister.”

Jon shrugged, half apologetically. “You’re bad with dogs.”

“I’m bad with people!”

“Well true…”

Gendry glowered at him. Aren’t best friends supposed to build you up?

“…But you’re good with Arya.” Jon said, giving him an apologetic half smile. “So come on Gen. What do you say? Please?”  
  
He was going to say no, he should say no.  It was a disaster waiting to happen, and Arya would lose her shit if she found out.  But something made him pause.  He'd like to think it was the look of actual desperation on Jon's face, but that wasn't it.  No, the fact of the matter was, he liked the idea of having an excuse to cock block Arya Stark for the next five weeks, or for however long she was in this new hook up with randos phase.  

“Fine. But I’m not sending fucking progress reports to Robb, so if you two want updates you’ll just have to fucking call, ok.”

“Deal. And I’m serious about the paying you thing—“

“Absolutely not. Just, first five rounds are on you when you get back, yeah?”

“Definitely.” Jon said, smiling again. “Speaking of which – do you want to come out with Sam and I for a last night of festivities before I head out into the wild?”

Gendry shook his head. He’d had enough excitement for one night. Plus he had to prep for the engineering class he was TAing, so he had an easy out. “Can’t, gotta prep for these kids tomorrow. You know how it is, if I’m not on my A game, _someone’s_ bound to blow up the E lab.”

Jon shook his head knowingly. No one knew how to be anti-social like Jon Snow, but still Gendry knew his friend wouldn’t take it personally. That’s what was so great about their friendship in the first place.

“Alright bro. Well then I guess I’ll see you bright and early tomorrow? And thanks again, it’s a relief to know that I have someone I trust looking after my baby sister. You know she means the world to me.”

Gendry nodded. “Yeah man. No problem.”

And with that he sunk back into the couch and drained his beer, wondering how on earth he was going to get through the next five weeks.


End file.
